CNA Oregon Exam Vocabulary &
Abbreviations
Acute illness - A sudden illness from which a person is expected to recover
Assisted living residence - (ALR) Provides housing, personal care, support services, health
care, and social activities in a home-like setting to persons needing help with daily
activities
ALR - Assisted living residence
Case management - A nursing care pattern; a case manager (an RN) coordinates a person's
care from admission through discharge and into the home or long-term care setting
Chronic illness - An ongoing illness, slow or gradual in onset; it has no known cure; it can be
controlled and complications prevented with proper care
Functional nursing - A nursing care pattern focusing on tasks and jobs; each nursing team
member has certain tasks and jobs to do
Health team - The many health care workers whose skills and knowledge focus on the
person's total care; interdisciplinary health care team
Hospice - A health care agency or program for persons who are dying
Licensed practical nurse - (LPN) A nurse who has completed a 1-year nursing program and
has passed a licensing test
LPN - Licensed practical nurse
Licensed vocational nurse - (LVN) A nurse who has complex a 1-year nursing program and
has passed a licensing program
Nursing assistant - A person who has passed a nursing assistant training and competency
evaluation program; performs delegated nursing tasks under the supervision of a licensed
nurse
Nursing team - Those who provide nursing care-RNs, LPNs/LVNs, and nursing assistants
Patient-focused care - A nursing care pattern; services are moved from departments to the
bedside
Primary nursing - A nursing care pattern; an RN is responsible for the person's total care
,Registered nurse - (RN) A nurse who has completed a 2-,3-,4-year nursing program and has
passed a licensing test
Team nursing - A nursing care pattern; a team of nursing staff is lead by an RN who decides
the amount and kind of care each person needs
Terminal illness - A illness or injury from which the person will not likely recover
DON - Director of nursing
HMO - Health maintenance organization
PPO - Preferred provider organization
SNF - Skilled nursing facility
Involuntary seclusion - Separating a person from others against his or her will, keeping the
person to a certain area, or keeping the person away from his or her room without consent
Ombudsman - Someone who supports or promotes the needs and interests of another
person
Representative - Any person who has the legal right to act on the resident's behalf when he
or she cannot do so for himself or herself
Treatment - The care provided to maintain or restore health, improve function, or relieve
symptoms
AHA - American Hospital Association
OBRA - Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987
Accountable - Being responsible for one's actions and the actions of others who performed
the delegated tasks; answering questions about and explaining one's actions and the
actions of others
Delegate - To authorize another person to perform a nursing task in a certain sitatuion
Job description - A document that describes what the agency expects you to do
Nursing task - Nursing care or a nursing function, procedure, activity, or work that can be
delegated to nursing assistants when it does not require an RN's professional knowledge or
judgment
Responsibility - The duty or obligation to perform some act or function
,CNA - Certified nursing assistant; certified nurse aide
LNA - Licensed nursing assistant
NATCEP - Nursing assistant training and competency evaluation program
NCSBN - National Council of State Boards of Nursing
RNA - Registered nurse aide
STNA - State tested nurse aid
Abuse - The willful inflection of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or
punishment that results in physical harm, pain, or mental anguish; depriving the person (or
the person's caregiver) of the goods or services needed to attain or maintain well-being
Assault - Intentionally attempting or threatening to touch a person's body without the
person's consent
Battery - Touching a person's body without his or her consent
Boundary crossing - A brief act or behavior outside of the helpful zone
Boundary sign - An act, behavior, or thought that warns of a boundary crossing or violation
Boundary violation - An act or behavior that meets your needs, not the person's
Civil law - Laws concerned with relationships between people
Crime - An act that violates a criminal law
Criminal law - Laws concerned with offenses against the public and society in general
Defamation - Injuring a person's name and reputation by making false statements to a third
person
Elder abuse - Any knowing, intentional, or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person
to an older adult; the act causes harm or serious risk of harm
Ethics - Knowledge of what is right conduct and wrong conduct
False imprisonment - Unlawful restraint or restriction of a person's freedom of movement
Fraud - Saying or doing something to trick, fool, or deceive a person
, Invasion of privacy - Violating a person's right not to have his or her name, photo, or
private affairs exposed or made public without giving consent
Law - A rule of conduct made by a government body
Libel - Making false statements in print, writing, or though pictures or drawings
Malpractice - Negligence by a professional person
Neglect - Failure to perform with the goods or services needed to avoid physical harm,
mental anguish, or mental illness
Professional boundary - That which separates helpful behaviors from behaviors that are
not helpful
Professional sexual misconduct - An act, behavior, or comment that is sexual in nature
Protected health information - Identifying information and information about the person's
health care that is maintained or sent to any form (paper, electronic, oral)
Self-neglect - A person's behaviors and way of living that threaten his or her health, safety,
and well-being
Slander - Making false statements orally
Standard of care - The skills, care, and judgements required by a health team member
under similar conditions
Tort - A wrong committed against a person or the person's property
Vulnerable adult - A person 18 years old or older who has a disability or condition that
mades him or her at risk to be wounded, attacked, or damaged
Will - A legal document of how a person wants property distributed after death
HIPPA - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
Bed rail - A device that serves as a guard or barrios along the side of the bed; side rail
Gait belt - Transfer belt
Transfer belt - A device used to support a person who is unsteady or disabled; gait belt
Adolescence - The time between puberty and adulthood; a time of rapid growth and
physical, sexual, emotional, and social changes
Abbreviations
Acute illness - A sudden illness from which a person is expected to recover
Assisted living residence - (ALR) Provides housing, personal care, support services, health
care, and social activities in a home-like setting to persons needing help with daily
activities
ALR - Assisted living residence
Case management - A nursing care pattern; a case manager (an RN) coordinates a person's
care from admission through discharge and into the home or long-term care setting
Chronic illness - An ongoing illness, slow or gradual in onset; it has no known cure; it can be
controlled and complications prevented with proper care
Functional nursing - A nursing care pattern focusing on tasks and jobs; each nursing team
member has certain tasks and jobs to do
Health team - The many health care workers whose skills and knowledge focus on the
person's total care; interdisciplinary health care team
Hospice - A health care agency or program for persons who are dying
Licensed practical nurse - (LPN) A nurse who has completed a 1-year nursing program and
has passed a licensing test
LPN - Licensed practical nurse
Licensed vocational nurse - (LVN) A nurse who has complex a 1-year nursing program and
has passed a licensing program
Nursing assistant - A person who has passed a nursing assistant training and competency
evaluation program; performs delegated nursing tasks under the supervision of a licensed
nurse
Nursing team - Those who provide nursing care-RNs, LPNs/LVNs, and nursing assistants
Patient-focused care - A nursing care pattern; services are moved from departments to the
bedside
Primary nursing - A nursing care pattern; an RN is responsible for the person's total care
,Registered nurse - (RN) A nurse who has completed a 2-,3-,4-year nursing program and has
passed a licensing test
Team nursing - A nursing care pattern; a team of nursing staff is lead by an RN who decides
the amount and kind of care each person needs
Terminal illness - A illness or injury from which the person will not likely recover
DON - Director of nursing
HMO - Health maintenance organization
PPO - Preferred provider organization
SNF - Skilled nursing facility
Involuntary seclusion - Separating a person from others against his or her will, keeping the
person to a certain area, or keeping the person away from his or her room without consent
Ombudsman - Someone who supports or promotes the needs and interests of another
person
Representative - Any person who has the legal right to act on the resident's behalf when he
or she cannot do so for himself or herself
Treatment - The care provided to maintain or restore health, improve function, or relieve
symptoms
AHA - American Hospital Association
OBRA - Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987
Accountable - Being responsible for one's actions and the actions of others who performed
the delegated tasks; answering questions about and explaining one's actions and the
actions of others
Delegate - To authorize another person to perform a nursing task in a certain sitatuion
Job description - A document that describes what the agency expects you to do
Nursing task - Nursing care or a nursing function, procedure, activity, or work that can be
delegated to nursing assistants when it does not require an RN's professional knowledge or
judgment
Responsibility - The duty or obligation to perform some act or function
,CNA - Certified nursing assistant; certified nurse aide
LNA - Licensed nursing assistant
NATCEP - Nursing assistant training and competency evaluation program
NCSBN - National Council of State Boards of Nursing
RNA - Registered nurse aide
STNA - State tested nurse aid
Abuse - The willful inflection of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or
punishment that results in physical harm, pain, or mental anguish; depriving the person (or
the person's caregiver) of the goods or services needed to attain or maintain well-being
Assault - Intentionally attempting or threatening to touch a person's body without the
person's consent
Battery - Touching a person's body without his or her consent
Boundary crossing - A brief act or behavior outside of the helpful zone
Boundary sign - An act, behavior, or thought that warns of a boundary crossing or violation
Boundary violation - An act or behavior that meets your needs, not the person's
Civil law - Laws concerned with relationships between people
Crime - An act that violates a criminal law
Criminal law - Laws concerned with offenses against the public and society in general
Defamation - Injuring a person's name and reputation by making false statements to a third
person
Elder abuse - Any knowing, intentional, or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person
to an older adult; the act causes harm or serious risk of harm
Ethics - Knowledge of what is right conduct and wrong conduct
False imprisonment - Unlawful restraint or restriction of a person's freedom of movement
Fraud - Saying or doing something to trick, fool, or deceive a person
, Invasion of privacy - Violating a person's right not to have his or her name, photo, or
private affairs exposed or made public without giving consent
Law - A rule of conduct made by a government body
Libel - Making false statements in print, writing, or though pictures or drawings
Malpractice - Negligence by a professional person
Neglect - Failure to perform with the goods or services needed to avoid physical harm,
mental anguish, or mental illness
Professional boundary - That which separates helpful behaviors from behaviors that are
not helpful
Professional sexual misconduct - An act, behavior, or comment that is sexual in nature
Protected health information - Identifying information and information about the person's
health care that is maintained or sent to any form (paper, electronic, oral)
Self-neglect - A person's behaviors and way of living that threaten his or her health, safety,
and well-being
Slander - Making false statements orally
Standard of care - The skills, care, and judgements required by a health team member
under similar conditions
Tort - A wrong committed against a person or the person's property
Vulnerable adult - A person 18 years old or older who has a disability or condition that
mades him or her at risk to be wounded, attacked, or damaged
Will - A legal document of how a person wants property distributed after death
HIPPA - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
Bed rail - A device that serves as a guard or barrios along the side of the bed; side rail
Gait belt - Transfer belt
Transfer belt - A device used to support a person who is unsteady or disabled; gait belt
Adolescence - The time between puberty and adulthood; a time of rapid growth and
physical, sexual, emotional, and social changes
